NEW WEBSITE, APP
Also under development is the OneNS online platform consolidating NS-related services.
The OneNS website will replace the NS Portal this year. An accompanying mobile app, currently in the trial phase, will be rolled out to all units this year as well.
Mr Heng said NSmen would experience fewer disruptions trying to access the OneNS web portal, which is being hosted on a commercial cloud platform.
The app will make daily routines more efficient for NSmen during in-camp training, he added. For example, instead of queueing to scan their NRICs when they register, NSmen can take their attendance easily with the app’s geo-location and QR code features.
NSmen can also get announcements and packing lists for in-camp training on the app, as well as check their IPPT attendance and records.
Mr Heng also provided updates on the government’s efforts to maximise NSmen’s contributions.
“Given low fertility rates, declining cohort sizes and an increasingly demanding mission, the SAF must continue to optimise the contributions of every national serviceman,” he said.
On Wednesday, the government said Singapore’s total fertility rate fell to a historic low of 0.97 in 2023, dropping below 1.0 for the first time.
To optimise deployment of full-time national servicemen (NSFs), SAF has been reviewing medical fitness criteria and matching them to the physical requirements of jobs, said Mr Heng.
Functional assessments were introduced in 2022 for pre-enlistees with selected orthopaedic conditions, to assess their ability to perform physical tasks needed for jobs.
“This allows for more deployment options than if one were to rely purely on medical classifications,” he said. About 200 of the 280 pre-enlistees tested since 2022 were assessed as functionally able to be deployed to a wider range of roles.